7 killed following crash of Cargo plane near Sudan’s Malakal

June 27, 2008 (KHARTOUM) — A Sudanese cargo plane crashed today near the capital of Upper Nile state, Malakal, killed seven of the crew member. The plane was flying from Khartoum to Juba.

The Antonov An-12 was charted by Juba Air Cargo Co., a Sudanese firm established in 1996 engaged in carriage and air transport of cargo to southern Sudan, and Juba particularly. The company works for the UN agencies and NGOs.

The plane took off at 5:55 am from Khartoum airport en route to Juba, and crashed after one hour and 10 minutes. The control tower lost contact with the cargo after it was informed about the crash by the sole survivor crew, Mohamed Hamza.

The cause of the crash is not clear but Hamza said a thunderstorm hit the Antonov twice before its collapse.

There are two Sudanese among the victims of the crash, and four Ukrainian and one Armenian. The bodies of the dead crew were transported to Khartoum morgue, the civilian aviation authority announced today.

This crash is the third in Sudan since last May.

On June 10, a Sudan Airways A310 carrying 214 people burst into flames after landing at Khartoum international airport, killing at least 30 people.

While on May 2 south Sudan’s defence minister and an adviser of the president of southern Sudan government were killed in a plane crash along with 22 other people.

(ST)